DATA RELEASE: What Does John Boehner Have to Lose by Debating Climate Change?

Submitted by Zach Bogoshian on Jul 18, 2013

July 18, 2013—Twenty-two members of the House of Representatives recently sent a letter to Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, asking him to hold a debate on the House floor about the science of climate change. "As the nation's leading scientists have told us, climate change is one of the most serious threats we and future generations will confront," they wrote in the letter. "We therefore ask you and your Republican colleagues to debate us on the House floor about the dangers of climate change and the appropriate policy response."

Data: MapLight analysis of campaign contributions to members of the House from top carbon-emitting interests from January 1, 2011—December 31, 2012. Contributions data source: OpenSecrets.org

Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, who controls what gets debated on the floor of the House, has received $1,131,323 from carbon-polluting interests, more than any other member of the House.

Representatives signing the letter requesting a debate on climate science have received, on average, 77% less money from carbon-polluting interests than Representatives not signing the letter.

House Republicans have received, on average, 4 times more money from carbon-polluting interests than House Democrats.

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About our data

Read the details about our data sources and methodology. Data refers to direct contributions to the campaign committees of elected legislators. For example, contribution totals exclude contributions to party committees such as the RNC or the DNC and exclude contributions made to individuals that did not win their election.

For U.S. Congress, contributions data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics (OpenSecrets.org) and legislative data provided by GovTrack.us.

California contributions data provided by the National Institute on Money in State Politics (FollowTheMoney.org).